Method to display a mark-up document according to a parental level, method and apparatus to reproduce the mark-up document in an interactive mode, and a data storage medium therefor

ABSTRACT

Provided are a method to display a mark-up document according to a parental level, a method and an apparatus for reproducing AV data in an interactive mode, and a data storage medium. The data storage medium includes the AV data, and mark-up documents to reproduce the AV data in an interactive mode. Here, among the mark-up documents, a start-up document contains information on the mark-up documents to be displayed according to a set parental level.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the priority of Korean Patent ApplicationNos. 2002-38880 and 2003-436 filed on Jul. 5, 2002 and Jan. 4, 2003,respectively, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus forreproducing a mark-up document according to a parental level, and a datastorage medium.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Digital versatile disks (DVD) that enable AV data recordedthereon to be reproduced in an interactive mode in a PC-basedenvironment, i.e., interactive DVDs, are being sold in the market place.On the interactive DVD, the AV data is recorded according toconventional DVD-video standards, and a mark-up document for supportinginteractive functions is further recorded. The AV data recorded on theinteractive DVD can be displayed in two different modes. One way todisplay the AV data is a video mode, which is the same as a conventionalDVD-video mode, i.e., the way AV data recorded on a typical DVD isdisplayed, and the other is an interactive mode in which an AV screen onwhich the AV data reproduced from the interactive DVD is displayedtogether with an embedded mark-up document. For example, in a case wherethe AV data is a movie title, moving images are displayed in a displaywindow of a screen, and various interactive contents including a filmscript, a synopsis, and actors and actresses' photos, can be displayedon the rest of the screen. The interactive contents can be displayed ona screen in synchronization with the AV data, such as a movie title. Forexample, the mark-up document containing a specific actor or actress'personal history may be drawn from a data storage medium and displayedwhen the specific actor or actress appears on the screen while a movietitle is reproduced.

[0006] However, some interactive content that can be displayed in aninteractive mode with the help of mark-up documents may not beappropriate for minors to view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] According to an aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data storage medium on which mark-up documents are recordedto control in an interactive mode a display interactive contentinappropriate for minors, and a method and an apparatus for reproducingdata from the data storage medium.

[0008] According to an aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method for reproducing a mark-up document so that interactivecontent inappropriate for minors can be prevented from being viewed byminors.

[0009] According to an aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data storage medium including AV data, and mark-up documentsnecessary for reproducing the AV data in an interactive mode. Here,among the mark-up documents, a start-up document includes information onthe mark-up documents to be displayed according to a set parental level.

[0010] According to an aspect of the present invention, the informationof the start-up document includes meta-information on a parental level,a set parental level, and link information on a mark-up documentcorresponding to the parental level in the meta-information.

[0011] According to an aspect of the present invention, the linkinformation includes information on a mark-up document to be displayedwhen the set parental level is higher than the parental level in themeta-information and the information of the mark-up document to bedisplayed when the set parental level is not higher than the parentallevel in the meta-information.

[0012] According to an aspect of the present invention, the informationof the start-up document is link information indicating a path of themark-up document corresponding to the set parental level.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data storage medium including AV data, and a plurality ofmark-up documents to reproduce the AV data in an interactive mode andcorresponding to at least two different parental levels.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data storage medium including a video directory where AV datais stored, and an interactive directory where data to reproduce the AVdata in an interactive mode is stored. Here, the interactive directoryhas a plurality of sub-directories corresponding to at least twodifferent parental levels, and in each of the plurality ofsub-directories, mark-up documents corresponding to a correspondingparental level are stored.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data storage medium including a video directory where AV datais stored, and an interactive directory where a start-up document thatis a mark-up document to reproduce the AV data in an interactive mode isstored. Here, the interactive directory has a plurality ofsub-directories corresponding to at least two different parental levels,in each of the plurality of sub-directories, a plurality of mark-updocuments corresponding to a corresponding parental level are stored,and the start-up document contains link information on the plurality ofmark-up documents stored in each of the sub-directories.

[0016] According to an aspect of the present invention, the linkinformation is written using a link tag.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data storage medium including AV data, a mark-up document toreproduce the AV data in an interactive mode, and display ruleinformation to display the mark-up document so as to correspond to a setparental level.

[0018] According to an aspect of the present invention, the display ruleinformation includes information indicating whether to display elementsof the mark-up document corresponding to at least two different parentallevels.

[0019] According to an aspect of the present invention, the display ruleinformation is written according to cascading style sheet (CSS) rules.

[0020] According to an aspect of the present invention, a class value isallotted to at least one of the elements of the mark-up document, andthe display rule information includes information indicating whether todisplay the element to which the class value is allotted.

[0021] According to an aspect of the present invention, the display ruleinformation is written in the form of a CSS file.

[0022] According to an aspect of the present invention, the AV data isDVD-video data, and the parental level meets DVD-video standards.

[0023] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a data storage medium including AV data, and a mark-up documentto reproduce the AV data in an interactive mode and containing a mannerin which another mark-up document written in a Script language so as tomeet a parental level that has been set in advance.

[0024] According to an aspect of the present invention, the mark-updocument is written so that it can be linked to a script file written ina script language or a CSS file.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method to reproduce AV data in an interactive mode. Themethod includes identifying a set parental level, and reproducing the AVdata in an interactive mode using a mark-up document corresponding tothe identified parental level.

[0026] According to an aspect of the present invention, the reproducingof the AV data includes identifying the parental level included inmeta-information written in the mark-up document designated as astart-up document, and reproducing the AV data using a mark-up documentselected based upon the result of comparing the parental levelidentified with the parental level identified in the meta-information asthe set parental level.

[0027] According to an aspect of the present invention, the AV data isreproduced in the interactive mode using the mark-up document presentinga warning message indicating that interactive content cannot bedisplayed when the parental level included in the meta-information islower than the set parental level.

[0028] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method to reproduce AV data in an interactive mode. Themethod includes identifying a set parental level, reading a mark-updocument in a sub-directory corresponding to the set parental levelamong sub-directories of an interactive directory, and reproducing theAV data in an interactive mode using the read mark-up document.

[0029] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method to display a mark-up document according to a parentallevel. The method includes identifying a predetermined value allotted toan element of a mark-up document, and determining whether to display thepredetermined element depending on the predetermined value based ondisplay rule information.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method to reproduce AV data in an interactive mode using amark-up document. The method includes identifying a class value allottedto an element of a mark-up document, determining whether to display theelement or not depending on the class value and referring to displayrule information, and embedding an AV screen obtained by reproducing theAV data in a mark-up screen obtained as a result of the determinationand displaying a result of the embedment.

[0031] According to an aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the display rule information is written according to CSS rules.

[0032] According to an aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the display rule information is written in the form of a CSSfile.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an apparatus to reproduce AV data of a data storage medium inan interactive mode using a mark-up document. The apparatus includes areader which reads the mark-up document and the AV data from the datastorage medium, an AV decoder which decodes the AV data, a presentationengine which identifies a predetermined value allotted to an element ofthe mark-up document and determines whether to display the elementdepending on the predetermined value and referring to display ruleinformation, and a blender which blends the mark-up document interpretedby the presentation engine and an AV screen to reproduce the AV data.

[0034] According to an aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the display rule information is written according to CSS rules.

[0035] According to an aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the display rule information is written in the form of a CSSfile.

[0036] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a reproduction system comprising a data storage medium, anapparatus to reproduce AV data recorded on the data storage medium in aninteractive mode using a mark-up document corresponding to the AV data,and a display device to display a mark-up screen obtained using themark-up document with an AV screen obtained by reproducing the AV data,wherein the AV screen is embedded in the mark-up screen.

[0037] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an apparatus to reproduce data from a data storage medium,comprising a reader reading the data from the data storage medium, and acontroller outputting a control signal to the reader to read AV data anda mark-up document from the data storage medium, wherein, in aninteractive mode, the controller interprets the mark-up documentcorresponding to a parental level set by a user indicative of whether toreproduce the AV data recorded on the data storage medium.

[0038] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method to reproduce AV data in an interactive mode, themethod comprising selecting the interactive mode, identifying a parentallevel set by a user, identifying the parental level written in a mark-updocument designated as a start-up document comparing the parental levelrecorded in the mark-up document with the parental level set by theuser, reproducing the AV data in the interactive mode using the mark-updocument with a warning message indicating that the interactive contentcorresponding to the AV data cannot be displayed when the parental levelwritten in the start-up document is less than the parental level set bythe user, and reproducing the AV data in the interactive mode using themark-up document including the interactive content to the AV data whenthe parental level written in the start-up document is higher than theparental level set by the user.

[0039] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method to display a mark-up document, the method comprisingidentifying a parental level set by a user, identifying a class valueallotted to a predetermined element of the mark-up document, determiningwhether to display the predetermined element based upon the parentallevel identified and the class value allotted to the predeterminedelement, and displaying the predetermined element.

[0040] According to another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method to reproduce AV data in an interactive mode using amark-up document, the method comprising identifying a parental level setby a user, identifying a class value assigned to a predetermined elementof the mark-up document, determining whether to display thepredetermined element based upon the parental level identified and theclass value and with reference to display rule information, andembedding and displaying an AV screen obtained by reproducing the AVdata in the mark-up screen.

[0041] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be setforth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will beobvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the aspects of the present invention, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

[0043]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a reproduction system,according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0044]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus to reproduce data,according to an aspect of the present invention; and

[0045]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating directories of data recorded on aDVD 300 on which the data is recorded, according to a first aspect ofthe present invention;

[0046]FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the directories of the datarecorded on the DVD 300 on which the data is recorded, according to asecond aspect of the present invention;

[0047]FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the directories of data recordedon the DVD 300 on which the data is recorded, according to a thirdaspect of the present invention;

[0048]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method to reproduce AV data in aninteractive mode, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0049]FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method to reproduce AV data in theinteractive mode, according to another aspect of the present invention;

[0050]FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method to display a mark-up document,according to an aspect of the present invention; and

[0051]FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method to reproduce AV data using themark-up document, according to an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0052] Reference will now be made in detail to the aspects of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. The aspects are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

[0053] According to an aspect of the present invention, ‘mark-updocuments’ includes all documents written in the mark-up language, suchas HTML or XML, and documents where source codes written in a scriptlanguage or Java is linked or inserted and even represents mark-upresource, such as files linked to a mark-up document. In other words,the mark-up document serves as an application program to reproduce AVdata in an interactive mode and contains interactive contents to bedisplayed together with the AV data.

[0054]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a reproduction system,according to an aspect of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1,the reproduction system includes a DVD 300, which is a data storagemedium according to an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus 200to reproduce data, a TV set 100, which is a display device according toan aspect of the present invention, and a remote controller 400, whichis a user input device. The remote controller 400 receives a controlcommand from a user and transmits the control command to the apparatus200 to reproduce the data. The apparatus 200 to reproduce the dataincludes a DVD drive 201 to reproduce the data from the DVD 300. Whenthe DVD 300 is loaded onto the DVD drive 201 and the user selects theinteractive mode, the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data reproduces theAV data recorded on the DVD 300 in the interactive mode using themark-up document corresponding to the AV data and transmits thereproduced AV data to the TV set 100. The TV set 100 displays a mark-upscreen obtained using the mark-up document with an AV screen obtained byreproducing the AV data. The AV screen is embedded in the mark-upscreen. Here, the interactive mode represents a display mode in whichthe AV data is reproduced, displayed in a display window defined by themark-up document, i.e., a display mode in which the AV screen displaysthe AV data and is embedded in the mark-up screen. Here, the AV screenrepresents a screen displayed on the display device, i.e., the TV set100, when reproducing the AV data, and the mark-up screen represents ascreen displayed on the display device when interpreting the mark-updocument. A screen displayed in an interactive mode is called aninteractive screen. The interactive screen includes the AV screen andthe mark-up screen. A video mode represents a conventional datareproduction mode defined by DVD-video standards, i.e., a mode in whichonly the AV screen obtained by reproducing the AV data is displayed. Inan aspect of the present invention, the apparatus 200 supports both theinteractive mode and the video mode.

[0055] The apparatus 200 provides a parental level setting button or anon-screen display menu that enables the user to set a parental level. Inaddition, the apparatus 200 can receive the data from and transmit thedata to other devices through a network, such as the Internet.

[0056]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of the apparatus 200 toreproduce the data, according to an aspect of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 2, the apparatus 200 includes a reader 2, a controller3, an AV decoder 4, and a blender 7. A presentation engine 5 is providedin the controller 3. An optical pickup (not shown) for reading the datafrom the DVD 300 by radiating laser beams on the DVD 300 is provided inthe reader 2. The reader 2 controls the optical pickup in response to acontrol signal output by the controller 3 so that the optical pickupreads the AV data and the mark-up document from the DVD 300. The AVdecoder 4 decodes the AV data read from the DVD 300. In a case where theAV data has been recorded on the DVD 300 according to the DVD-videostandards, the AV decoder 4 decodes the AV data following the DVD-videostandards.

[0057] From software's point of view, the presentation engine 5 in thecontroller 3 is an engine for interpreting and executing a mark-uplanguage or a client interpretation program language, such as JavaScriptor Java. The presentation engine 5 may further include various plugs-in.Files of various formats included in the mark-up document or linked tothe mark-up document can be opened by such plugs-in. For example, WindowMedia Player may be called by the presentation engine 5 to reproduceWindow Media Player AV data files. In addition, the presentation engine5 can bring predetermined data, such as the mark-up documents, fromother devices through the network.

[0058] The presentation engine 5 interprets the mark-up document readfrom the DVD 300 so as to reproduce the AV data recorded on the DVD 300in the interactive mode. In other words, the presentation engine 5identifies the parental level set by the user for the apparatus 200 andinterprets the mark-up document in consideration of the parental level.

[0059] In an aspect according to the present invention, there areprovided five different parental levels, i.e., G, PG, PG13, R, andNC-17, which are the same as those defined by the DVD-video standardsfor compatibility. The mark-up documents, according to an aspect of thepresent invention, are provided to reproduce the AV data recorded on thedata storage medium according to the DVD-video standards in aninteractive mode, and the mark-up documents are provided according tothe parental levels for compatibility. The presentation engine 5 uses anapplication program interface (API) to identify the parental level setfor the apparatus 200. The presentation engine 5, however, may use theAPI defined by conventional interactive DVD-video standards, i.e.,InterActual API Specification. The example of the API is as follows.

[0060] 1. Property

[0061] Parental Level

[0062] 2. Summary

[0063] Return a current parental level value

[0064] 3. Return Values

[0065] ECMASCript Number Signed 1 byte integer

[0066] Parental level ranging from 1 to 8 where 1=G, 2=Reserved, 3=PG,4=PG13, 5=Reserved, 6=R, 7=NC-17, and 8=Reserved

[0067] The user may set the parental level at any of 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7.The presentation engine 5 can identify the parental level set for theapparatus 200 to reproduce the data by using “ParentLevel” properties ofthe API.

[0068] The blender 7 blends the AV data stream with the interpretedmark-up document so that the AV data stream can be displayed in thedisplay window defined by the mark-up document; in other words, the AVscreen can be embedded in the mark-up document screen. Thereafter, theblender 7 outputs the result of the blending to the TV set 100.

[0069]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating directories of data recorded onthe DVD 300 on which data is recorded, according to a first aspect ofthe present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, a root directory includes avideo directory VIDEO_TS in which the AV data is stored. In the videodirectory VIDEO_TS, a navigation file VIDEO_TS.IFO containing navigationinformation of all video title sets is stored. Then, a navigation fileVTS_(—)01_(—)0.IFO containing the navigation information of a firstvideo title set, and the AV data VTS_(—)01_(—)0.VOB, VTS_(—)01_(—)1.VOB,. . . , constituting the video title set are recorded. Each of theplurality of the AV data VTS_(—)01_(—)0.VOB, VTS_(—)01_(—)1.VOB, . . . ,is a video title, i.e., a video object. Each video object VOB includes avideo object unit VOBU, which is a package of a navigation pack, a videopack, and an audio pack. A detailed structure of VIDEO_TS has beendisclosed in ‘DVD-Video for Read Only Memory Disc 1.0’ dealing withDVD-video standards.

[0070] An interactive directory DVD_ENAV is provided as a sub-directoryof the root directory. In the interactive directory DVD_ENAV, mark-updocuments for supporting an interactive mode are stored. In particular,in the interactive directory DVD_ENAV, a start-up document STARTUP.XML,and mark-up documents INDEX.XML and WARNING.XML for selectively showinga parental level are stored. In addition, other mark-up documents, i.e.,files inserted into STARTUP.XML, INDEX.XML, and WARNING.XML, are alsostored in the interactive directory DVD_ENAV.

[0071] The start-up document STARTUP. XML contains the parental levelinformation and link information. In an aspect of the present invention,the parental level information is a parental level written in thestart-up document STARTUP.XML, and the link information is the mark-updocument information indicating whether the parental level set by theuser is higher or lower than the parental level written in the start-updocument STARTUP.XML. An example of the start-up document STARTUP.XML isas follows. <STARTUP.XML> <?xml version=“1.0”?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC“-//DVD//DTD XHTML DVD HTML 1.0//EN”“http://www.dvdforum/dvdenav/dvdhtml-1-0.dtd”> <html> <head><title>Startup Page</title> <meta name=“ParentalLevel” contents=“4” /><link rel=“FirstPage” href= “dvd://dvd_enav/index.xml” /> <linkrel=“Warning” href= “dvd://dvd_enav/warning.xml” /> </head> </html>

[0072] The start-up document STARTUP.XML contains meta-information <metaname=“ParentalLevel” contents=“4”/>concerning the parental level and thelink information <link rel=“FirstPage”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/index.xml”/><link rel=“Warning”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/warning.xml”/>. According to the meta-informationand the link information, WARNING.XML is displayed on the screen whenthe parental level set for the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data is 4or below, and INDEX.XML is displayed on the screen when the parentallevel exceeds 4.

[0073] The presentation engine 5 identifies the parental level set inthe apparatus 200 to reproduce the data using the API that has beendescribed above and interprets mark-up documents using meta-informationand link information written in a mark-up document designated as astart-up document.

[0074]FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating directories of the data recordedon the DVD 300, according to a second aspect of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 4, the root directory includes two sub-directories,i.e., a video directory VIDEO_TS where the AV data is stored and theinteractive directory DVD_ENAV where the mark-up documents to supportthe interactive mode are stored. The video directory VIDEO_TS shown inFIG. 4 is the same as its counterpart shown in FIG. 3, and, thus, itsdescription will be omitted.

[0075] In the interactive directory DVD_ENAV, a start-up documentSTARTUP.XML is stored. In addition, the interactive directory includessub-directories G, PG, PG13, R, and NC-17 concerning different parentallevels. Each of the sub-directories G, PG, PG13, R, and NC-17 contains amark-up document INDEX.XML corresponding to the parental level.Furthermore, in the interactive directory DVD_ENAV, other mark-updocuments, i.e., files inserted into STARTUP.XML or INDEX.XML, are alsostored.

[0076] In the start-up document STARTUP.XML, link information is stored.In an aspect according to the present invention, the link informationincludes mark-up document information indicating the parental level setby the user for the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data. An example ofthe start-up document STARTUP.XML is as follows. <STARTUP.XML> <?xmlversion=“1.0”?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//DVD//DTD XHTML DVD HTML1.0//EN” “http://www.dvdforum/dvdenav/dvdhtml-1-0.dtd”> <html> <head><title>Startup Page</title> <link rel=“1”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/G/index.xml” /> <link rel=“3”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/PG/index.xml” /> <link rel=“4”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/PG13/index.xml” /> <link rel=“6”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/R/index.xml” /> <link rel=“7”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/NC-[13]17/index.xml”/> </head> </html>

[0077] According to the link information stored in the start-up documentSTARTUP.XML, INDEX.XML stored in the sub-directory G is displayed whenthe parental level set for the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data is 1,INDEX.XML stored in the sub-directory PG is displayed when the parentallevel set for the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data is 3, INDEX.XMLstored in the sub-directory PG13 is displayed when the parental levelset for the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data is 4, INDEX.XML storedin the sub-directory R is displayed when the parental level set for theapparatus 200 to reproduce the data is 6, and INDEX.XML stored in thesub-directory NC-17 is displayed when the parental level set for theapparatus 200 to reproduce the data is 7.

[0078] The presentation engine 5 identifies the parental level set forthe apparatus 200 to reproduce the data using an API that has beendescribed above and interprets the mark-up documents using themeta-information and the link information written in the mark-updocument designated as a start-up document.

[0079] Alternatively, in a case where there are two or more start-uppages provided for each parental level, the start-up pages can be storedin the same directory but have different file names. In this case, thestart-up document STARTUP.XML may have the following format andstructure. <STARTUP.XML> <?xml version=“1.0”?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC“-//DVD//DTD XHTML DVD HTML 1.0//EN”“http://www.dvdforum/dvdenav/dvdhtml-1-0.dtd”> <html> <head><title>Startup Page</title> <link rel=“1”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/index_g.xml”/> <link rel=“3”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/index_pg.xml” /> <link rel=“4”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/index_pg13.xml”/> <link rel=“6”href=“dvd://dvd_enav/index_r.xml” /> <link rel=“7” href=“dvd://dvd_enav/index_nc_[13]17.xml” /> </head> </html>

[0080]FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the directories of the datarecorded on the DVD 300, according to a third aspect of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 5, the root directory includes twosub-directories, i.e., a video directory VIDEO_TS where the AV data isstored and the interactive directory DVD_ENAV where the mark-updocuments to support the interactive mode are stored. The videodirectory VIDEO_TS shown in FIG. 5 is the same as its counterpart shownin FIG. 3, and, thus, a description thereof will be omitted.

[0081] In the interactive directory DVD_ENAV, the mark-up documentINDEX.XML is stored. In addition, a cascading style sheet (CSS) fileindicating the mark-up document INDEX.XML corresponding to the parentallevel set for the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data is also stored inthe interactive directory DVD_ENAV. The CSS file may be included in themark-up document rather than to be generated separately from the mark-updocument.

[0082] In an aspect according to the present invention, the CSS filecontains display rule information. The display rule information iswritten according to a “@media rule” style defined by CSS standards. Anexample of “@media rule” defining display rules for target media is asfollows. @media print { BODY { font-size: 10pt} } @media screen { BODY {font-size: 12pt} } @media screen, print { BODY { line-height: 1.2} }

[0083] According to the above “@media rule”, the target media is printedout having a font size of 10 and a line space of 1.2 and is displayed onthe screen having the font size of 12 and the line space of 1.2.

[0084] In an aspect of the present invention, the display ruleinformation written according to CSS standards is as follows.@parentalLevel-display G { .3 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} .4{display:box; visibility:hidden;} .6 {display:box; visibility:hidden;}.7 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} }

[0085] Here, @parentalLevel-display indicates that an element having a“class” attribute value of 3, 4, 6, or 7 sets parameters “display” and“visibility” as “box” and “hidden”, respectively, when the parentallevel is G. In particular, if the parameter “display” is set as “box”,box regions are generated and continue to exist even when the boxregions are not physically seen. If the parameter “display” is set as“none”, generation of all the boxes is banned so that the arrangement ofthe mark-up documents is more likely to get messed up because evenunseen box regions can help arrange the mark-up documents. In otherwords, by setting the parameter “display” as “box”, the mark-updocuments can be well arranged. The parameter “visibility” is used todetermine whether or not such generated box regions are to be seen.

[0086] An example of the mark-up document INDEX.XML including thedisplay rule information written according to CSS standards is asfollows. <INDEX.XML> <?xml version=“1.0”?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC“-//DVD//DTD XHTML DVD HTML 1.0//EN”“http://www.dvdforum/dvdenav/dvdhtml-1-0.dtd”> <html> <head><title>Example</title> <style type=“text/css”> @parentalLevel-display G{ .3 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} .4 {display:box;visibility:hidden;} .6 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} .7{display:box; visibility:hidden;} } @parentalLevel-display PG { .4{display:box; visibility:hidden;} .6 {display:box; visibility:hidden;}.7 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} } @parentalLevel-display PG13 { .6{display:box; visibility:hidden;} .7 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} }@parentalLevel-display R { .7 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} }@parentalLevel-display NC-17 { } </head> <body> <imgsrc=“dvd://dvd_enav/...” class=“4” /> <divclass=“7”>........................................ </div> <imgsrc=“dvd://dvd_enav/...” class=“6” /> <divclass=“3”>........................................ </div> ... </body></html>

[0087] As shown in the above example, the parental level value isallotted to each element in the “body” of the mark-up document INDEX.XMLas a “class” attribute value. Whether to display each element isdetermined based upon the display rule information@parentalLevel-display.

[0088] An example of the mark-up document INDEX.XML and its display ruleinformation, which is provided as an individual single following CSSstandards, i.e., INDEX.CSS, is as follows. <INDEX.XML> <?xmlversion=“1.0”?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//DVD//DTD XHTML DVD HTML1.0//EN” “http://www.dvdforum/dvdenav/dvdhtml-1-0.dtd”> <html> <head><title>Example</title> <link rel=“stylesheet” type=“text/css”href=“index.css”> </head> <body> <img src=“dvd://dvd_enav/...” class=“4”/> <div class=“7”>........................................ </div> <imgsrc=“dvd://dvd_enav/...” class=“6” /> <divclass=“3”>........................................ </div> ... </body></html> <INDEX.CSS> @parentalLevel-display G { .3 {display:box;visibility:hidden;} .4 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} .6{display:box; visibility:hidden;} .7 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} }@parentalLevel-display PG { .4 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} .6{display:box; visibility:hidden;} .7 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} }@parentalLevel-display PG13 { .6 {display:box; visibility:hidden;} .7{display:box; visibility:hidden;} } @parentalLevel-display R { .7{display:box; visibility:hidden;} } @parentalLevel-display NC-17 { }

[0089] Alternatively, the mark-up document INDEX.XML may be writtenusing a script language, such as JavaScript, so as to represent adocument appropriate for the corresponding parental level. The scriptlanguage, which is a programming language, may be used in variousmanners. An example of the mark-up document INDEX.XML using the scriptlanguage is as follows. <INDEX.XML> <?xml version=“1.0”?> <!DOCTYPE htmlPUBLIC “-//DVD//DTD XHTML DVD HTML 1.0//EN”“http://www.dvdforum/dvdenav/dvdhtml-1-0.dtd”> <html> <head><title>Example</title> <script type=“text/Javascript”>if(InteractivDVD.ParentalLevel == 1) { classes.3.display=“box”;classes.3.visibility=“hidden”; classes.4.display=“box”;classes.4.visibility=“hidden”; classes.6.display=“box”;classes.6.visibility=“hidden”; classes.7.display=“box”;classes.7.visibility=“hidden”; } if(InteractivDVD.ParentalLevel == 3) {classes.4.display=“box”; classes.4.visibility=“hidden”;classes.6.display=“box”; classes.6.visibility=“hidden”;classes.7.display=“box”; classes.7.visibility=“hidden”; }if(InteractivDVD.ParentalLevel == 4) { classes.6.display=“box”;classes.6.visibility=“hidden”; classes.7.display=“box”;classes.7.visibility=“hidden”; } if(InteractivDVD.ParentalLevel == 4) {classes.6.display=“box”; classes.6.visibility=“hidden”;classes.7.display=“box”; classes.7.visibility=“hidden”; }if(InteractivDVD.ParentalLevel == 6) { classes.7.display=“box”;classes.7.visibility=“hidden”;} if(InteractivDVD.ParentalLevel == 7) {</script> </head> <body> <img src=“dvd://dvd_enav/...” class=“4” /> <divclass=“7”> ........................................ </div> <imgsrc=“dvd://dvd_enav/...” class=“6” /> <div class=“3”>........................................ </div> ... </body> </html>

[0090] In the above example of the mark-up document INDEX.XML,“ParentalLevel” that has been described above is used a property forreading a currently set parental level, and ways to represent documentsappropriate for their parental levels are written in the script languageusing simple if-sentences.

[0091] The if-sentences are written so that the mark-up documentINDEX.XML can be linked to the CSS file and/or the JavaScript fileprovided separately.

[0092] Hereinafter, the method to reproduce the data in the interactivemode, according to an aspect of the present invention, will be describedin greater detail based upon the above-described structures of thereproduction system and data written on the DVD 300.

[0093]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the method to reproduce the data in theinteractive mode, according to an aspect of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 6, when the interactive mode is selected, at operation601, the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data identifies the parentallevel set by the user. Thereafter, at operation 602, the apparatus 200to reproduce the data reproduces the AV data in the interactive modeusing the mark-up document corresponding to the identified parentallevel.

[0094] More specifically, at operation 602, the apparatus 200 toreproduce the data identifies the parental level written in the mark-updocument designated as the start-up document and compares the parentallevel recorded in the mark-up document with the parental levelidentified at operation 601. If the parental level written in thestart-up document is not higher than the parental level identified atoperation 601, the AV data is reproduced in the interactive mode usingthe mark-up document with a warning message indicating that theinteractive content corresponding to the AV data cannot be displayed. Onthe other hand, if the parental level written in the start-up documentis higher than the parental level identified at operation 601, the AVdata is reproduced in the interactive mode using the mark-up documentcontaining the interactive content corresponding to the AV data.

[0095] In other words, according to an aspect of the present invention,where the parental level identified at operation 601 (i.e., parentallevel set by the user with respect to the apparatus 200) is equal to orhigher than the parental level written in the start-up document, the AVdata is reproduced in the interactive mode using the mark-up documentincluding the interactive content corresponding to the AV data. Forexample, where the parental level written in the start-up document is 3(PG) and the user set parental level is 6 (R), the AV data is reproducedin the interactive mode using the interactive content rated PG as theuser set parental level 6 is equal to or higher than the parental level3 written in the mark-up document.

[0096] As described above, apparatus 200 may obtain predetermined data,for example, the mark-up document, form the network such as theInternet. Accordingly, it is understood that where the user set parentallevel identified at operation 601 is equal to or higher than a level ofattribute corresponding to a list of URL(s) for web servers, the AV datais reproduced in the interactive mode and the URL(s) specified by theattribute are allowed to be accessed.

[0097]FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method to reproduce the AV data in theinteractive mode, according to an aspect of the present invention.

[0098] Referring to FIG. 7, at operation 701, the apparatus 200 toreproduce the data identifies the parental level set by the user.Thereafter, the mark-up document stored in the sub-directorycorresponding to the parental level identified at operation 701 amongthe plurality of sub-directories of the interactive directory is read atoperation 702. At operation 703, the AV data is reproduced in theinteractive mode using the mark-up document.

[0099]FIG. 8 is the flowchart of a method to display a mark-up document,according to an aspect of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, atoperation 801, the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data identifies aparental level set by a user. Thereafter, at operation 802, theapparatus 200 to reproduce the data identifies the class value allottedto the predetermined element of the mark-up document. At operation 803,the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data determines whether to displaythe predetermined element based upon the parental level identified atoperation 801 and the class value allotted to the predetermined elementand then displays the predetermined element.

[0100]FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the method to reproduce the AV data inthe interactive mode using the mark-up document, according to an aspectof the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, at operation 901, theapparatus 200 to reproduce the data identifies the parental level set bythe user. Thereafter, the apparatus 200 to reproduce the data identifiesthe class value allotted to the predetermined element of the mark-updocument at operation 902. At operation 903, the apparatus 200 toreproduce the data determines whether to display the predeterminedelement based upon the parental level identified at operation 901 andthe class value and with reference to the display [the] rule informationat operation 903. The apparatus 200 to reproduce the data embeds the AVscreen obtained by reproducing the AV data in the mark-up screen anddisplays a result of the embedment at operation 904.

[0101] As described above, the present invention provides a data storagemedium on which a mark-up document is recorded so that whether todisplay interactive content inappropriate for minors or not can becontrolled in an interactive mode, and a method and a system toreproduce data from the data storage medium. Accordingly, it is possibleto control whether to display such inappropriate interactive content ornot according to DVD-video standards. In addition, according to anaspect of the present invention, elements of the mark-up document aregraded so that the mark-up document can be displayed in different waysdepending on an age of a viewer.

[0102] Although a few aspects of the present invention have been shownand described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges might be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus to reproduce AV data of a data storage medium in an interactive mode using a mark-up document, comprising: a reader reading the mark-up document and AV data from the data storage medium; an AV decoder decoding the AV data; a presentation engine identifying a predetermined value of an element of the mark-up document and determining whether to display the element depending on the predetermined value and to display rule information; and a blender blending a mark-up document interpreted by the presentation engine and an AV screen obtained by reproducing the AV data.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display rule information is written according to CSS rules.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the display rule information is written in a form of a CSS file.
 4. A reproduction system, comprising: a data storage medium; an apparatus to reproduce AV data recorded on the data storage medium in an interactive mode using a mark-up document corresponding to the AV data; and a display device to display a mark-up screen obtained using the mark-up document with an AV screen obtained by reproducing the AV data, wherein the AV screen is embedded in the mark-up screen.
 5. The reproduction system of claim 4, wherein the interactive mode is a display mode in which the AV data is reproduced, displayed in a display window defined by the mark-up document.
 6. The reproduction system of claim 4, wherein the AV screen is a screen displayed on the display device when reproducing the AV data, and the mark-up screen is a screen displayed on the display unit when interpreting the mark-up document.
 7. The reproduction system of claim 4, wherein the apparatus to reproduce the AV data comprises: a parental level setting button or an on-screen display menu to enable the user to set a parental level
 8. The reproduction system of claim 4, wherein the apparatus to reproduce the AV data receives data from and transmits the data through a network.
 9. The reproduction system of claim 4, wherein the mark-up document comprises an application program to reproduce the AV data in the interactive mode and contains interactive contents to be displayed on the display device together with the AV data.
 10. An apparatus to reproduce data from a data storage medium, comprising: a reader reading the data from the data storage medium; and a controller outputting a control signal to the reader to read AV data and a mark-up document from the data storage medium, wherein, in an interactive mode, the controller interprets the mark-up document corresponding to a parental level set by a user indicative of whether to reproduce the AV data recorded on the data storage medium.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: an AV decoder decoding the AV data; and a blender blending the mark-up document and an AV screen obtained by reproducing the AV data.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a display window; and a blender blending the AV data with the mark-up document so that the AV data is displayed in the display window defined by the mark-up document and an AV screen is embedded in the mark-up document screen.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the presentation engine comprises plugs-in.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the controller retrieves data and the mark-up document through a network.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the parental level has five different parental levels comprising G, PG, PG13, R, and NC-17 defined by data storage medium-video standards for compatibility.
 16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the mark-up documents reproduce the AV data recorded on the data storage medium according to data storage medium-video standards in the interactive mode, and the mark-up documents are provided according to parental levels for compatibility.
 17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the presentation engine uses an application program interface (API) to identify the parental level set for the apparatus.
 18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the parental level information is a parental level written in a start-up document, where the start-up document comprises meta-information on the parental level, a set parental level, and link information of the mark-up document corresponding to the parental level in the meta-information.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the link information is the mark-up document information indicating whether the parental level set by the user is higher or lower than the parental level written in the start-up document.
 20. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the controller identifies the parental level set in the apparatus to reproduce the data using an application program interface (API) and interprets the mark-up document using meta-information and link information written in a mark-up document designated as a start-up document.
 21. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the data storage medium comprises a root directory having a video directory where the AV data is stored and an interactive directory where the mark-up document to support the interactive mode.
 22. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the link information comprises mark-up document information indicating the parental level set by the user for the apparatus to reproduce the data.
 23. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the mark-up document comprises the CSS file.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the CSS file is generated separately from the mark-up document.
 25. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the mark-up document is written using a script language to represent a document appropriate for the parental level.
 26. An apparatus to reproduce data from a data storage medium, comprising: a reader reading the data from the data storage medium; and a controller outputting a control signal to the reader to read AV data and a mark-up document from the data storage medium, wherein, in an interactive mode, the controller interprets the mark-up document corresponding to a user set parental level indicative of whether to reproduce one or more elements of the mark-up document.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein in response to the user set parental level being equal to or higher than a level of the mark-up document, access to one or more elements of the mark-up document corresponding to the level is allowed.
 28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the user set parental level and the level of the mark-up document comprise values 1 through 8 defined by data storage medium-video standards for compatibility.
 29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein: the mark-up document includes a list of URLs for web servers, and in response to the user set parental level being equal to or higher than the level of the mark-up document, access to one or more of the URLs corresponding to the level is allowed. 